"Did you deem yourself strong, because you were able to twist the heads off civilized folk, poor weaklings with muscles like rotten string? Hell! Break the neck of a wild Cimmerian bull before you call yourself strong. I did that, before I was a full-grown man...!" - Conan, in "Shadows in Zamboula", by Robert E. Howard"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?""I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard

"Did you deem yourself strong, because you were able to twist the heads off civilized folk, poor weaklings with muscles like rotten string? Hell! Break the neck of a wild Cimmerian bull before you call yourself strong. I did that, before I was a full-grown man...!" - Conan, in "Shadows in Zamboula", by Robert E. Howard"... you speak of Venarium familiarly. Perhaps you were there?""I was," grunted [Conan]. "I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills. I hadn't yet seen fifteen snows, but already my name was repeated about the council fires." - "Beyond the Black River", by Robert E. Howard

That was more or less a tribute to his old friend, Manly Wade Wellman. If you don't know Wellman, do a little investigation work. Wellman's the perfect example of an author with a huge fan following and authors and publishers who are willing to promote his work, but who instructed his estate handlers (in this case David Drake, who owns the rights) not to allow anyone else to write works based on his John the Balladeer character.

It's been twenty years since his passing, he has one of the biggest names in the field continuously promoting his work, and he has a slew of other authors who continuously suggest him as well. And with all of that, he's going to be a valid contender for a Cordwainer Smith rediscovery award in a few years.

And if you don't know who Cordwainer Smith is, either, congratulations, I just gave you not one, but two great old writers to look up.

Has anybody apart from REH written or finished any Solomon Kane stories?

All stories about Solomon Kane I've read are written by REH. I wonder whether anyone has written anything on Solomon Kane since REH's death.

Kull and Solomon Kane are the two fantasy REH charaters that were not carried on by anyone else after his death. Some writers have completed some of the Kane fragments (Ramsey Campbell, for one, in the Baen edition) but no new stories or novels have been published (to my knowledge.)

Kull and Solomon Kane are the two fantasy REH charaters that were not carried on by anyone else after his death. Some writers have completed some of the Kane fragments (Ramsey Campbell, for one, in the Baen edition) but no new stories or novels have been published (to my knowledge.)

Could you fill me in about this Campbell guy completing Kane's fragments? What fragments? Are there any reviews of Campbells's work available to read?

Actually, it looks like there were at least two non-english pastiches written about Solomon Kane.I pulled the following off the introduction to a Solomon Kane chronology located on the Wold-Newton website.

The majority of the information here comes from Robert E. Howard?s stories and poems about Kane but two of the entries are based on the writings of Italian author and REH fan Gianluigi Zuddas. The stories, ?L?Isola del Serpente Plumato? and ?La Corona di Asa? appear to be Mr. Zuddas? attempt to make a frame for the stories by writing the Puritan?s first and last adventures. Mr. Zuddas also wrote his own endings to the unfinished adventures, ?The Castle of the Devil?, ?Hawk of Bashti?, and ?The Children of Asshur?. All of these were collected in the Italian volume, ?Solomon Kane?, Rome, Fanucci, 1979.

"I vanquished Law once, I'll conquer yet again--And force upon Mankind the Freedom he fears--And dead gods I will again defy?"

Has anybody apart from REH written or finished any Solomon Kane stories?

All stories about Solomon Kane I've read are written by REH. I wonder whether anyone has written anything on Solomon Kane since REH's death.

Paul di Fillipo wrote a great story from the point of view of a young Cotton Mather and how he met Solomon Kane. The name of the story escapes me, but it was collected in "Conqueror Fantastic." Less a pastiche and more an exercise in di Fillipo trying to write a Howardian story, and succeeding.

There is at least one Solomon Kane-inspired story coming up in the Robert E. Howard commemorative book that will be given away at World Fantasy this year.

Paul di Fillipo wrote a great story from the point of view of a young Cotton Mather and how he met Solomon Kane. The name of the story escapes me, but it was collected in "Conqueror Fantastic." Less a pastiche and more an exercise in di Fillipo trying to write a Howardian story, and succeeding.

There is at least one Solomon Kane-inspired story coming up in the Robert E. Howard commemorative book that will be given away at World Fantasy this year.

Thanks for this reference to di Fillipo. I just bought it. And I'm assuming by your comment that his attempt "to write a Howardian story, and succeeding" that this is a good read.

Also, do you have a reference for the REH commemorative book? Is it already out? And if it's being "given away" (oh my god! that's probably not exactly right!), can you get other copies and/or buy copies?

"'Cept for being wanted for murder and shootin' up a lot of townsfolks, life was a little boring anyway." - Jonah Hex

The stories, ?L?Isola del Serpente Plumato? and ?La Corona di Asa? appear to be Mr. Zuddas? attempt to make a frame for the stories by writing the Puritan?s first and last adventures. Mr. Zuddas also wrote his own endings to the unfinished adventures, ?The Castle of the Devil?, ?Hawk of Bashti?, and ?The Children of Asshur?. All of these were collected in the Italian volume, ?Solomon Kane?, Rome, Fanucci, 1979.

Has this Italian Solomon Kane been translated into English?

"'Cept for being wanted for murder and shootin' up a lot of townsfolks, life was a little boring anyway." - Jonah Hex

The earliest SK rewrite, and the hardest to lay hands on, was by John Pocsik, who in 1964 rewrote The Blue Flame of Vengeance into a new story, adding a weird element. This new story was titled Blades of the Brotherhood, and was included in Over the Edge, an Arkham House hardback anthology.

A couple years later, when the Grant Red Shadows book was issued, Glenn went back to the original, non-weird story, and kept the title Blades of the Brotherhood.

The only other time the JP version has been printed was when Arrow reprinted Over the Edge as a PB, in 1976. I don't know that I've ever read this version, though I seem to have some vague recollection of it, involving a little ghostly light.

The earliest SK rewrite, and the hardest to lay hands on, was by John Pocsik, who in 1964 rewrote The Blue Flame of Vengeance into a new story, adding a weird element. This new story was titled Blades of the Brotherhood, and was included in Over the Edge, an Arkham House hardback anthology.

A couple years later, when the Grant Red Shadows book was issued, Glenn went back to the original, non-weird story, and kept the title Blades of the Brotherhood.

The only other time the JP version has been printed was when Arrow reprinted Over the Edge as a PB, in 1976. I don't know that I've ever read this version, though I seem to have some vague recollection of it, involving a little ghostly light.

Okay, I've looked this up. In the contents, I see "The Blue Flame of Vengeance" by REH and "Casting the Stone" by John Pocsik. I don't see "Blades of the Brotherhood." Is "Casting the Stone" a Solomon Kane pastiche?

"'Cept for being wanted for murder and shootin' up a lot of townsfolks, life was a little boring anyway." - Jonah Hex

Okay, I'm slightly less confused now after looking at the Del Rey _Savage Tales of Solomon Kane_. "The Blue Flame of Vengeance" is "Blades of the Brotherhood" under another title. That's exactly what you were saying; I was just too dumb to get it. Anyway, . . .

Is the JP version so superior that's it's worth buying _Over the Edge_ for, do you think?

And do you know anything about JP's story "Casting the Stone" in _Over the Edge_?

Edited by mckennal, 07 November 2006 - 10:30 PM.

"'Cept for being wanted for murder and shootin' up a lot of townsfolks, life was a little boring anyway." - Jonah Hex

Okay, I'm slightly less confused now after looking at the Del Rey _Savage Tales of Solomon Kane_. "The Blue Flame of Vengeance" is "Blades of the Brotherhood" under another title. That's exactly what you were saying; I was just too dumb to get it. Anyway, . . .

Is the JP version so superior that's it's worth buying _Over the Edge_ for, do you think?

And do you know anything about JP's story "Casting the Stone" in _Over the Edge_?

I have a very hard time beleiving anyone can rewrite REH and do it well, so I doubt its a better story with the added material.

GODZILLDUDE: Is the later Arrow paperback version of the JP story all that different? I know you said something about "little ghostly light." Is that, uh, your ghostly light or the text's little ghostly light?

"'Cept for being wanted for murder and shootin' up a lot of townsfolks, life was a little boring anyway." - Jonah Hex

The earliest SK rewrite, and the hardest to lay hands on, was by John Pocsik, who in 1964 rewrote The Blue Flame of Vengeance into a new story, adding a weird element. This new story was titled Blades of the Brotherhood, and was included in Over the Edge, an Arkham House hardback anthology.

A couple years later, when the Grant Red Shadows book was issued, Glenn went back to the original, non-weird story, and kept the title Blades of the Brotherhood.

The only other time the JP version has been printed was when Arrow reprinted Over the Edge as a PB, in 1976. I don't know that I've ever read this version, though I seem to have some vague recollection of it, involving a little ghostly light.

Dude, you should visit your own website and/or check your own book. John Pocsik's version used the title "The Blue Flame of Vengeance." When Grant published the REH-only version of the story, they borrowed the title Howard had given to a rewrite (in which Solomon Kane became "Malachi Grim"): "Blades of the Brotherhood." This is the title that the REH version carried along until we staunch purists of Wandering Star insisted upon restoring Howard's original title to the story, and the Pocsik version be damned. I hope the story and title are now forever reunited. I further hope to include Howard's Malachi Grim version in a collection in the not-too-distant future.

Dude, you should visit your own website and/or check your own book. John Pocsik's version used the title "The Blue Flame of Vengeance." When Grant published the REH-only version of the story, they borrowed the title Howard had given to a rewrite (in which Solomon Kane became "Malachi Grim"): "Blades of the Brotherhood." This is the title that the REH version carried along until we staunch purists of Wandering Star insisted upon restoring Howard's original title to the story, and the Pocsik version be damned. I hope the story and title are now forever reunited. I further hope to include Howard's Malachi Grim version in a collection in the not-too-distant future.

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GODZILLDUDE: Is the later Arrow paperback version of the JP story all that different? I know you said something about "little ghostly light." Is that, uh, your ghostly light or the text's little ghostly light?
[/quote]

The later PB is suppose to have the same JP version as the Arkham House original. I seem to have some memory that "The Blue Flame of Vengeance" leads SK around so that he can solve who killed whom and get his revenge. But that was loooong ago, very old memory, who knows.

I read a story by CJ henderson where he completed death's dark riders (one page howard fragment)

the story starts a bit slowly but turns into a very interesting tale with some pretty unique concepts thrown in near the end................like projecting your soul out fromyour body for some timely help in battling a monster! I had never seen this done before........its a good tale............it was printed in a series of books about the lovecraft mythos.......sorry, i cant recall the title but i have the book, will come back later with the name of it.......great story.....pretty close to howard's level of excellence...henderson is good